Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries farm management systems officer Raylene Hansen said 15 growers attended a pre-season roadshow at Mackay last month coordinated by QPIF with support from the Australian Mungbean Association and Soy Australia.

To take these legume crops through to a profitable grain harvest, which is an added bonus for coastal canegrowers, insect monitoring and control has emerged as a management issue.

Ms Hansen said now was the time of year when growers were considering growing dryland or irrigated mungbeans or irrigated soybeans in the fallow phase of their sugarcane production system.

QPIF entomologist Hugh Brier, Kingaroy, said there was positive feedback from the growers who were keen to learn more about IPM and were seeking more direct contact with research and extension officers.

Oakenden district canegrower Joe Muscat said the workshop had given him the basic guidelines to help monitor legume crops for insect control.

Mr Muscat was also appreciative of the grains industry overview and marketing options presented by Denis M’Gee, SOYAustralia development and commercialisation manager, Newcastle, and Pat McKey, manager of Bettacrop Pty Ltd, Emerald.

Local agricultural consultant Dave McCallum, new farming systems coordinator at Agriserv Central, said it was pleasing to see growers looking to the future to make the transition from growing green manure crops to producing soybean grain.

“IPM training is essential to enable growers to positively identify insects in their crops and be able to monitor pest populations for potential economic impacts on yield,” Mr McCallum said.

QPIF Mackay-based senior agronomist for FutureCane, John Hughes, said central region sugarcane growers now recognised the importance of integrating a legume crop into the fallow phase irrespective of the price of sugar.

“Interrupting soil borne disease cycles, soil health issues and reducing nitrogenous fertiliser inputs into subsequent plant cane remain good reasons to use legumes to boost the sustainability of the overall cropping system,” Mr Hughes said.

The team of summer crop legume industry experts also took their summer crop roadshow presentation to grower meetings at Emerald and Moura on November 18.

* For more information on grain legume crops, visit the QPIF website at www.dpi.qld.gov.au or call the Business Information Centre on 13 25 23.